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Someone here will have the answers, I'm sure.

A friend is stuck in a long term care facility with health issues and I'm trying to get her a laptop so she can work while her body heals. The laptop will be used for word processing, email, and staying connected to the rest of the world via the net.

Questions:

Any strong opinions on any of the cheap(er) laptops out there? Any reason to avoid a celeron processor? Any ideas I haven't thought of?

Anyone like any particular data plan better than any other? Looks like Sprint and AT&T are running about $60 a month. Any other input?

Thanks, everyone!

When I was in Dallas the head of the IT dept didn't have a lot of good to say about a celeron processor but for the life of me I can't remember the exact reasons he didn't like them. I want to say he was refering to them for the use of graphic development but I can be wrong. I probably am.

ph4ever wrote:When I was in Dallas the head of the IT dept didn't have a lot of good to say about a celeron processor but for the life of me I can't remember the exact reasons he didn't like them. I want to say he was refering to them for the use of graphic development but I can be wrong. I probably am.

I think you're right, Connie. I've heard less than stellar reviews for graphics, but I think it might be okay for word processing.

Just make sure there's enough RAM to run everything - especially the Virus Protection program. I just upgraded the RAM in ours and it's amasing what tripling your RAM will do.

Prior to that whenever our av updated - my browser hung up
definately would not run a scan while browsing - browser would hang up
and run my photoshop and anything else - NOPE nada don't work well
Even my word processing and a browser open to use an online thesarus it would sometimes hang up

RAM is cheep and easy to install too

Celeron/Sempron -based laptops and desktops are fine when it comes to the basic computer needs. The big difference between Pentium/Athlon and Celeron/Sempron is in the amount of L2 cache (if any) the processor has. L2 cache is used to assist in memory access from the processor to the system RAM.

Graphics and capability of a processor are two different issues. GPU (graphics processing unit) are a separate chip (normally) from the CPU (central processing unit).

ph4ever wrote:Just make sure there's enough RAM to run everything - especially the Virus Protection program. I just upgraded the RAM in ours and it's amasing what tripling your RAM will do.

Prior to that whenever our av updated - my browser hung up
definately would not run a scan while browsing - browser would hang up
and run my photoshop and anything else - NOPE nada don't work well
Even my word processing and a browser open to use an online thesarus it would sometimes hang up

RAM is cheep and easy to install too

there is a point where RAM will not help in the performance of the system and can actually be a detriment to the performance of the system. Also the speed of the internal components (hard drive, system bus, RAM speed) make a difference.

oph wrote:

ph4ever wrote:Just make sure there's enough RAM to run everything - especially the Virus Protection program. I just upgraded the RAM in ours and it's amasing what tripling your RAM will do.

Prior to that whenever our av updated - my browser hung up
definately would not run a scan while browsing - browser would hang up
and run my photoshop and anything else - NOPE nada don't work well
Even my word processing and a browser open to use an online thesarus it would sometimes hang up

RAM is cheep and easy to install too

there is a point where RAM will not help in the performance of the system and can actually be a detriment to the performance of the system. Also the speed of the internal components (hard drive, system bus, RAM speed) make a difference.

I went online and did some research with dell and put the maximum suggested in.

As a computer weenie, I feel I should chime in. Lots of good suggestions here. One thing about memory is to figure out what you want up front and get it. The upgrade path isn't as easy as for desktops. Say you 512MB in your laptop and you really want 2GB. Well, you can't buy a 1.5GB chip, so you'd have to buy a 1GB and 512MB chip. But, laptops have a limited number of slots for memory, most often 2 but there may be more. So, getting a machine to 2GB will not be possible with 2 512MB chips and 1 1GB. You would need 2 1GB chips. When you buy that, your 512MB chip is taken out and you'll think to yourself, "well crap, what do I do with this?"

Components are harder to swap out on laptops since it is a much smaller space and a lot of the stuff is integrated into the motherboard.

As for a brand, buy HP! (I work for HP, I had to throw that in). Whatever she buys, she may want to buy a small usb drive to back up her docs, spreadsheets, favorites, etc.

I know Jack was looking to buy a laptop a while back, you could ask him. I need to buy one also and I'll probably get a middle of the road one.

Hockey Mon wrote:As a computer weenie, I feel I should chime in. Lots of good suggestions here. One thing about memory is to figure out what you want up front and get it. The upgrade path isn't as easy as for desktops. Say you 512MB in your laptop and you really want 2GB. Well, you can't buy a 1.5GB chip, so you'd have to buy a 1GB and 512MB chip. But, laptops have a limited number of slots for memory, most often 2 but there may be more. So, getting a machine to 2GB will not be possible with 2 512MB chips and 1 1GB. You would need 2 1GB chips. When you buy that, your 512MB chip is taken out and you'll think to yourself, "well crap, what do I do with this?"

Components are harder to swap out on laptops since it is a much smaller space and a lot of the stuff is integrated into the motherboard.

As for a brand, buy HP! (I work for HP, I had to throw that in). Whatever she buys, she may want to buy a small usb drive to back up her docs, spreadsheets, favorites, etc.

I know Jack was looking to buy a laptop a while back, you could ask him. I need to buy one also and I'll probably get a middle of the road one.

I put mine up "just in case" now when/if that happens I won't remember where I put it.

have you considered a netbook ? and what's the chance the facility uses a wireless network that's not password protected ?

AlbatrossFlyer wrote:have you considered a netbook ? and what's the chance the facility uses a wireless network that's not password protected ?

See, this is why I ask questions like this here on BN. I never heard of a netbook before and so yes, now it is under consideration!

I was wondering the same thing about the facility's wireless. In fact, she needs to check and see if the provide wireless. Lots of places do now.

Netbooks are good for general internet/email. If she's going to be doing a lot of word processing, I wouldn't suggest it, as the keyboards can be cramped and hard to type on, especially larger documents.

But they can be cheap. Walmart has a netbook made by Asus for around $400 with decent specs.

SharkOnLand wrote:Netbooks are good for general internet/email. If she's going to be doing a lot of word processing, I wouldn't suggest it, as the keyboards can be cramped and hard to type on, especially larger documents.

But they can be cheap. Walmart has a netbook made by Asus for around $400 with decent specs.

Was leaning toward a 15" Dell for the screen and keyboard size. She'll be doing a fair amount of work processing and I don't know if a really small keyboard/screen will be adequate.

Dell is not a bad choice..the Studio line would be great for someone with her needs. Looks like there's another resident tech nerd here other than myself. She is going to get stuck with Vista, bottom line...Dell does offer and XP downgrade for its business accounts and the Vostro line, but not for the average Joe. Since Vista is the OS, 2 gigs is the sweets spot...3 would be better, for the difference in price it wouldn't hurt to max it out. No netbook, too small for her..mine is almost too small for me, but if im in the plane, or doing in home service calls its very handy. I bought an MSI wind, but it would more than likely be far too small for her needs.

I'd call Dell on the phone, talk to someone and try to make a deal...ordering online doesn't give you much options like talking to a rep can.

As for the Aircard, ive seen them all, played with them all. ATT and sprint's cards or crap. Go with Verizon. They are all about the same price per month and the Verizon network goes above and beyond. But of course that's if there is no wireless available in her location. Dump the antivirus they give you. Likely Norton or Mcafee...They are both trash anyway and run like a fat man. Eset NOD32 is usually ranked #2 in the world, BitDefender is another...But I digress. I run my own on site repair service on the side when im not flying, so hpefully this helps. If you guys need anything seriously shoot me a PM and you can call me before taking a leap..

Lastplaneout wrote:Dell is not a bad choice..the Studio line would be great for someone with her needs. Looks like there's another resident tech nerd here other than myself. She is going to get stuck with Vista, bottom line...Dell does offer and XP downgrade for its business accounts and the Vostro line, but not for the average Joe. Since Vista is the OS, 2 gigs is the sweets spot...3 would be better, for the difference in price it wouldn't hurt to max it out. No netbook, too small for her..mine is almost too small for me, but if im in the plane, or doing in home service calls its very handy. I bought an MSI wind, but it would more than likely be far too small for her needs.

I'd call Dell on the phone, talk to someone and try to make a deal...ordering online doesn't give you much options like talking to a rep can.

As for the Aircard, ive seen them all, played with them all. ATT and sprint's cards or crap. Go with Verizon. They are all about the same price per month and the Verizon network goes above and beyond. But of course that's if there is no wireless available in her location. Dump the antivirus they give you. Likely Norton or Mcafee...They are both trash anyway and run like a fat man. Eset NOD32 is usually ranked #2 in the world, BitDefender is another...But I digress. I run my own on site repair service on the side when im not flying, so hpefully this helps. If you guys need anything seriously shoot me a PM and you can call me before taking a leap..

that is incorrect. anyone can order from the office/business side of Dell without being a 'business account'..just select 'For the Office' and choose Small & Medium Business..there is no limit as to what size of an office you have..Then you can choose between Precision, Latitude, Vostro and Inspiron versions and configure from there.

2 gigs might be the sweet spot but I have vista ultimate running in a vm with a 10g vhd and 1g RAM and a 1 vcpu and i see no difference (other than graphics) from a physical box with a 80g hd and 2g RAM and multiple cores

oph wrote:

Lastplaneout wrote:Dell is not a bad choice..the Studio line would be great for someone with her needs. Looks like there's another resident tech nerd here other than myself. She is going to get stuck with Vista, bottom line...Dell does offer and XP downgrade for its business accounts and the Vostro line, but not for the average Joe. Since Vista is the OS, 2 gigs is the sweets spot...3 would be better, for the difference in price it wouldn't hurt to max it out. No netbook, too small for her..mine is almost too small for me, but if im in the plane, or doing in home service calls its very handy. I bought an MSI wind, but it would more than likely be far too small for her needs.

I'd call Dell on the phone, talk to someone and try to make a deal...ordering online doesn't give you much options like talking to a rep can.

As for the Aircard, ive seen them all, played with them all. ATT and sprint's cards or crap. Go with Verizon. They are all about the same price per month and the Verizon network goes above and beyond. But of course that's if there is no wireless available in her location. Dump the antivirus they give you. Likely Norton or Mcafee...They are both trash anyway and run like a fat man. Eset NOD32 is usually ranked #2 in the world, BitDefender is another...But I digress. I run my own on site repair service on the side when im not flying, so hpefully this helps. If you guys need anything seriously shoot me a PM and you can call me before taking a leap..

that is incorrect. anyone can order from the office/business side of Dell without being a 'business account'..just select 'For the Office' and choose Small & Medium Business..there is no limit as to what size of an office you have..Then you can choose between Precision, Latitude, Vostro and Inspiron versions and configure from there.

2 gigs might be the sweet spot but I have vista ultimate running in a vm with a 10g vhd and 1g RAM and a 1 vcpu and i see no difference (other than graphics) from a physical box with a 80g hd and 2g RAM and multiple cores

OMG THANKS FOR THAT INFO!!!! My son has been wanting a notebook but I was going to have him wait till Windows 2009 or whatever it's called comes out. Now he doesn't have to wait!!

DH is the computer guy for an office of about 50 people, mostly on laptops- he has more issues with the HPs than everything else combined, including printers.

I bought a refurbished Dell a year and a half ago for $300-$400 and it has worked great. At that point, a $400 laptop was unheard of. I upgraded the Memory and that's it. It isn't the greatest laptop by any means but it's perfectly fine for surfing the net and other basics. Any brand name basic laptop will probably be sufficient for Internet and word processing.

ph4ever wrote:OMG THANKS FOR THAT INFO!!!! My son has been wanting a notebook but I was going to have him wait till Windows 2009 or whatever it's called comes out. Now he doesn't have to wait!!

Buy a MacBook.

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

ph4ever wrote:OMG THANKS FOR THAT INFO!!!! My son has been wanting a notebook but I was going to have him wait till Windows 2009 or whatever it's called comes out. Now he doesn't have to wait!!

Buy a MacBook.

if you're gonna spend that kind of money you might as well install fusion and you can use all your pc applications

however if you take the pc and install FreeBSD and a GUI (graphical user interface, what most people use, i.e. the 'windows') such as Gnome or KDE you achieve the same underpinnings as MAC OS X without the high cost as OS X is just a custom GUI on top of BSD.